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Mobility Scouts: Engaging older people in creating..
Mobility Scouts: Engaging older people in creating an age-friendly environment
Start date: Oct 1, 2016,
End date: Sep 30, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
In 2060, almost one third of the European population will be 65 years or older. Ageing is thus not only an individual but also a societal challenge. And it is a challenge we have to prepare for on time and in many ways. One very important factor is that of participation: The chance to participate in our society at various levels is crucial for an active, meaningful and healthy life in older age.Mobility is obviously a major prerequisite for participation. Being mobile means being able to go outside, take care of yourself, see friends, stay active, be visible, be involved in your community. At present, not everyone can participate adequately because he/she faces barriers and/or feels insecure. The overall objective of the project Mobility Scouts is to contribute to the creation of age-friendly environments in order to facilitate mobility and thus participation of older people. The core idea of the project Mobility Scouts is to train and empower older people to function as agents for an age-friendly environment and implement mobility projects - based on regional specificities, their own and their cooperation partners´ interests. Regarding Mobility Scouts´ role and fields of activity, different options are possible: Mobility Scouts will function as contact persons for older people and local stakeholders in their cities, dealing with issues such as better access to urban services, urban planning and assessments of public spaces. Furthermore, they will develop projects based on local needs (e.g. age-friendly parks, awareness raising activities, etc.).Furthermore, relevant organisations and stakeholders (e.g. local authorities, public transport providers) in five European cities (Vienna - AT, Frankfurt - DE, Rome - IT, Kaunas - LT and Den Haag - NL) will be prepared for involving older people as co-producers of accessible environments, services and products. The Mobility Scouts project involves the following direct target groups: 1) Older men and women who want to get involved in their communities with regard to mobility and accessibility issues. In each partner country 10-15 older people are trained as Mobility Scouts.2) Organisations and institutions (e.g. local authorities, transport companies) that are interested to open up their processes to the Mobility Scouts. In each partner countries 10-15 relevant stakeholders at local/regional level will be actively involved in the project (= total 50-75 relevant stakeholders). 3) Peers who are interested in mobility issues but may not yet be ready to take responsibility for their own projects may take part in mobility projects. As in each partner country 3-5 mobility projects will be implemented involving an estimated number of 10 people (e.g. older people, staff/volunteers of organisations functioning as cooperation partners) each (= a total of 150-250 beneficiaries).Mobility Scouts will be implemented through the following steps: EUROPEAN RESEARCH on the status-quo of active citizenship of older people in creating an age-friendly environment in partner countries and other EU countries.ELABORATING AND TESTING A TRAINING PACKAGE: The training will be based on a joint Curriculum and will focus on skills and knowledge that are relevant to Mobility Scouts (e.g. transversal skills such as social/civic responsibility or entrepreneurship, general and specific knowledge of mobility). Furthermore, the Mobility Scouts will be supported to get in contact with relevant organisations and institutions and to realise mobility projects. ELABORATING AND PRODUCTION OF PUBLICATIONS: Organisations that are interested but not directly involved in the project obtain low-threshold and non-committal information in the Sensitization Handbook for Stakeholders. The Toolkit for Practitioners is an excellent basis for organisations and persons working with older people and interested in age-friendly environments (e.g. service providers, trainers).An ONLINE TRAINING COURSE enables people interested to become active as Mobility Scouts in regions, where no Mobility Scout training is offered. The Online Training Course (available in English all partner languages) offers learning units, a guided practical implementation and descriptions of mobility projects.Mobility Scouts is future-proof, because the outcome of this project is substantially positive. As the number of older and very old people will increase in the coming decades there is a trend that policy will be more focused on themes of quality of life, collaboration, participation and co-design. As there is a need of innovative community based approaches that involve and empower older people to engage with, respond to and/or initiate design processes and spatial practices and initiatives, the Mobility Scouts project has an important role to play. On a symbolic level engagement structures like these can provide a platform and a voice for an otherwise marginalised age group.